Star Track: Marc Bacote

May 22, 2007

Marc Bacote, 28, of Hampton is continuing his football journey with another winning team. This year, it's as a two-way player for the Bossier-Shreveport (La.) Battle Wings of arenafootball2, who have started 6-1 and are outscoring their opponents by an average of 58.4 points to 41.1. Bacote, in his fifth season of af2 competition, is a 6- foot-5, 218-pound wide receiver and defensive back. He has seven catches for 51 yards, two touchdowns and a 7.3- yards-per-catch average. But where he mostly has excelled has been defense. He has 11 tackles, two interceptions for 34 yards and a touchdown, one pass breakup and one fumble recovery. One of the guys throwing him passes? None other than former Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets quarterback Quincy Carter. Bacote played for Hampton High as a wide receiver, linebacker and safety for the Crabbers. His contributions to Fork Union Military Academy's postgraduate team squad helped him gain a scholarship to James Madison, where he majored in sports management and played offense. He had six catches for 72 yards as a senior. Bacote commenced his af2 career in 2003 with the Richmond Speed, making 14 catches for 184 yards and six touchdowns, as well as making 11 tackles. When the Speed folded, Bacote went to Kansas to play for the Wichita Stealth, accumulating 58 catches, 563 yards, 10 touchdowns and 32 tackles. The Stealth then went under because of financial problems, but Bacote went to the Manchester (N.H.) Wolves and had two productive seasons. He had 17 touchdowns, including 14 TD catches, and made 66 receptions for 651 yards in 2005. Last season, he had 74 catches for 751 yards and scored 120 points, 19 of them on TDs. Now he's with his fourth af2 team in five years.

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